A View From the Pew

Where was I?

August and September have flown by--- From the end of July to the first week of Sept I was facilitating a study discussion group on the Eucharist for my parish--- it seems to have gone very well. I used Scott Hahn's book--- "The Lamb's Supper" and then supplemented with reflections from various saints and doctors of the Church--- it was a lot of work but I really enjoyed doing it. In the process of preparing for the sessions I myself learned and discovered a lot of things--- In return the insights and reflections my fellow parishoners shared helped me grow as well--- What a wonderful experience it was!

Following that my husband and I went on a much needed vacation--- it had been about 7 years since we did a real vacation. We make a point of getting away periodically for a long weekend here and there but this was a full blown two week road trip--- it was great. We drove through 10 states--- Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina--- in NC we spent a few days in the mountains and in Asheville including a day at the Biltmore Estate--- WOW!!! I didn't know we had a castle in this country! Then we drove to Hatteras Island and spent a week on the Outer Banks--- or OBX as they are referred to there. We had a great time. We rented a house on the beach---which is a surprisingly affordable thing to do---if you go off season as we did--- then when we went home we drove through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana--- then back home to Illinois. So many neat places to see--- and beautiful scenery. Here are a few photos--- I will be putting together a photo album soon--- first I need to go through all the images--- Digital photography is great--- a little too great if you know what I mean---without worrying about film and film processing it is real easy to get carried away!

Finally!

Yes--- the skies finally opened over the dusty northern Illinois fields.

My posting is light this week because I have been working on materials for the study/discussion group I am facilitating at my parish for the Year of the Eucharist--- it begins tomorrow evening--- those so inclined please pray for its success--- I will be back to posting soon! God bless!

The Weekend

Lissy,  my world wide traveler is home for a week or so--- we have been having fun! When she comes home she is starved for American stuff. Hamburgers, pizza, a good juicy steak---BBQ ribs and chicken. She also loves the fact that time actually means something here. Where she lives in Mexico if someone says 8:00 you are lucky if they show up by 9:30--- stores have posted hours but the real hours are completely dependent on when the manager or owner feels like showing up--- or when they feel like leaving--- you never quite know when places will open or close---so she is tickled that when you make an appointment here--- people actually show up when they say they will! It's a hoot to see her joy at coming home to the U.S. It is great to have her home!

One of the things we did over the weekend was to go to a We Care Rally. It is an annual event in support of the military. They have food, entertainment and all kinds of military equipment to look at--- climb in and take pictures of--- Local restaurants provide food and feed any military personell, retired or otherwise for free if they show up in uniform. The place was swamped with many young men and women in uniform. As I sat in the shade and watched the goings on I was suddenly struck by how young they all looked--- they were kids. I felt so humbled---  I realized it has always been brave young people who have paid the highest price for our freedom--- so often we are quick to disparage young people but it is mostly from their ranks--- on their backs that we have been afforded great freedoms and opportunites we have enjoyed in this country. That one flash of insight has renewed my appreciation and gratitude for what they have given us and the blessedness this country has enjoyed because of their service to God and country. This fourth of July will have special meaning for me because of them.

As I have sat and reflected on the emotions that those young faces stirred in me I was reminded of Deuteronomy Chapt.8:7-20:

For the LORD, your God, is bringing you into a good
country, a land with streams of water, with springs and
fountains welling up in the hills and valleys,
a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and
pomegranates, of olive trees and of honey,
a land where you can eat bread without stint and where
you will lack nothing, a land whose stones contain iron and in
whose hills you can mine copper.
But when you have eaten your fill, you must bless the LORD, your God, for the good country he has given you. Be careful not to forget the LORD, your God, by neglecting his commandments and decrees and statutes which I enjoin on you today: lest, when you have eaten your fill, and have built fine houses and lived in them,
and have increased your herds and flocks, your silver
and gold, and all your property, you then become haughty of heart and unmindful of the LORD, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery; who guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its saraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground; who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers, that he might afflict you and test you, but also make you prosperous in the end.
Otherwise, you might say to yourselves, 'It is my own
power and the strength of my own hand that has obtained for me this wealth.'

Remember then, it is the LORD, your God, who gives you
the power to acquire wealth, by fulfilling, as he has now done,
the covenant which he swore to your fathers.
But if you forget the LORD, your God, and follow other
gods, serving and worshiping them, I forewarn you this day that
you will perish utterly.
Like the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so
shall you too perish for not heeding the voice of the LORD, your God.

I believe the young people I saw over the weekend understand those words in a way many of us have forgotten. It is true that power, privilege and wealth corrupt. Oh, how I pray this long weekend as we celebrate our independence we remember--- truly remember what it is--- or rather Who it is that has made this country so great.

My hot dog

A little more then a week ago we were wearing sweatshirts because it was only in the 50's--- Today it was 93 and my poor puppy Dually plastered himself on the cool tile floor in the living room.

And this is something you do not see often ----

a chipmunk eating thistle seed from a finch feeder---seems like a lot of work for a little tiny snack!

Some photos

This is one of our three "boys". My husband brought Kai home four years ago on Valentines day. He is my shadow--- I don't go anywhere without him. He is also the official watch dog---even though we have a 160 pound rottie! He hates the vacuum and his best trick was figuring out that if he pulls the plug from the wall he can make it stop!

Bowl of flowers on my deck----

Bleeding hearts-----

If you want to see more here's my photo album

Gate of Grace

I had one of those "wow Gods " last night. The past few days I have been having a health problem. Now--- I do not tend to be a worrier but in this case I freaked-- for a couple of reasons. The first it is kind of a weird situation--- a sudden severe pain that seems to be nerve related since it runs down a nerve path--- it was so bad I had to take Vicodin--- Ibuprofen didn't touch it--- secondly--- it originates in the same general area that my mom had pain from her metastatic endometrial cancer--- this I think was freaking me more then anything--- Last night I was laying in bed and I couldn't sleep. I am sure it was partly this issue as well as the fact that we went out to dinner with family last night and not thinking I had a big cup of coffee at 9:30 pm. So my mind was taking me all kinds of places I didn't want to go. Finally I sat up on the side of my bed and I noticed a holy card sitting on my nightstand. I had gotten it at my last trip to the Catholic bookstore--- the clerk stuck it in my bag. It has been in the drawer of my night stand ever since. I had just shoved it in there without really looking at it--- the only thing I had noticed was that it is an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Earlier in the week it had fallen out of the drawer and I had placed it on top of the nightstand. So as I sat there--- a stressed out insomniac--- I picked it up to read what was on the back----

It brought tears to my eyes and such peace! The weight of my worries lifted off my shoulders. You see this was so personal to me--- not only did the words fit my situation exactly--- I had an experience right after the Easter Vigil in 2000 when I was officially accepted back into the Church. I was praying before the Blessed Sacrament at Marytown and while I was praying the rosary--- with my eyes closed--- suddenly I saw an image of the Blessed Mother. She was holding a child--- somehow I knew that the blond haired toddler she held protectively against her shoulder was me. In my conversion process our Lady played a big role and I think she was telling me that I was her daughter and it was her motherly intercession that kept me safe and brought me back home--- so when I read those words last night I knew she truly was speaking them to me---  Our God truly is awesome! I still have the pain but it is much better today--- and I am making an appoint for the doctor--- but now I am much less anxious. Thanks be to God!

From my Garden

I love Spring!

click on photos for full size!

My Big Day

Last Fall Fr.S, our associate pastor began the CRHP (Christ Renews His Parish or "chirp")  program at our parish. As a graduate (survivor) of the "Called and Gifted" program (Archdiocesan Lay Ministry program--- or as I affectionately refer to it the "Called to Heresy" program) I have to admit I am always skeptical of any Archdiocesan sponsored program--- that is just a consequence of the Bernadin Legacy here in the Archdiocese of Chicago (Thanks to our past Cardinal we have Call To Action and the Common Ground Initiative devotees running most of the show here).

So needless to say when I did my retreat last fall I was happily surprised by the program. I thoughly enjoyed the weekend and I could see the positive influence this has on parish life. If I had to put it in a nutshell I would say it centers on a group of parishoners (leaders) sharing their personal witness to Christ active in their life---which through group discussions and activities leads the others to look at and think about how Jesus is present in their own life. Basically it is sort of like taking your fellow parishoners by the hand and introducing them to Jesus as he is present in your life and then encouraging them to do the same thing for the next group of parishoners.

Anyway--- tonight it is my turn to witness. It is the first run through of my witness (My topic is Renewal) before the group---Dang it, I'm nervous!!!! Yes, I know I blurt out all kinds of stuff on this blog--- but you know I am safely hidden behind this monitor with some fashion of anonimity. In evaluating the situation I know it is not fear of those who will be present--- I have come to know my fellow retreat leaders very well--- and Fr. S has been very supportive and encouraging--- I think I am afraid of letting Jesus down--- of getting in the way of the Holy Spirit--- now don't laugh--- I am serious! I want this to be totally about Him. So I am requesting prayers--- please pray that what I say will give glory to God alone and encourage the listeners to even greater trust in our merciful Lord--- Thanks!

On to business as usual--- I read this article yesterday:

Bishops' "Faithful Citizenship" undermined by conservative groups.

A short time ago this would have frosted my bulb big time-- now I just shake my head and grin. It is from the National Catholic Reporter so that should suffice for an explanation---still I feel compelled to point out the hypocrisy and bias--- not that it would change anyone's thinking there--- it's just plain fun to do it! So--- here's a snippet and my response:

"Dinges said he was surprised "by the number of people who told me that they have 'never seen the conflict this bad before.' " There is little civility when conservative activists challenge diocesan workers presenting the teaching of the bishops. "I was struck by the sense that this has really gotten ugly," said Dinges.

(Two things----- First---civility is a two way street and the dissmissive and condescending attitudes of many liberal Catholics I have run into streches one's patience to the breaking point at times----secondly---  just maybe the past couple of years which have been filled with one sordid and at times criminal revelation after another has caused many Catholics to question the motives of some bishops, maybe as a body the American bishops have lost some of their credibility when it comes to instructing the faithful on matters of morality. It is interesting that there was no such outcry when the topics of dissent were things like women priests, acceptence of homosexual unions, contraception and abortion. These were not dissent but the "sensum fidelium"--- so now Catholic liberals are shocked by this act of "disobedience"??? Uh----huh--- Apparently the sensum fedelium should only work in their favor--- when it supports their ideals---because after all they are the ones who know what's really important. Just maybe because many of the bishops refuse to sprout spines and act to defend the truths of the Holy Catholic Church some people will feel compelled to do it.)

So who are the conservative activists? Dinges places them in five groups: Catholic traditionalists, conservatives and neoconservatives, the "radicalized element" of the antiabortion movement, Republican political partisans and "evangelicalized Catholics."

(IOW's not "real" Catholics like them---)

Though there was clearly some organized effort to disrupt and disparage the church's official outreach, most of agitation was caused, said Dinges, by individuals acting in small groups, frequently with the support of conservative parish clergy who showed little fear of contravening diocesan guidance on election-year activities.

(Does this wrangling sound vaguely familiar to the democratic party cries of conservatives disrupting election processes? This is even more hysterical in light of the fact that these people are constantly "contravening" Church teaching in most other areas)

Further, said Dinges, in some dioceses the activists "were emboldened by the actions of some bishops," particularly in dioceses where bishops threatened to withhold Communion from pro-choice Catholic politicians. In some cases, chastened by the hostility diocesan presenters received at Faithful Citizenship education efforts, bishops simply cancelled additional sessions, leaving the Catholic take on the election to the Catholic Answers crowd.

Anything new here?
Is there anything new here? Dinges thinks so. In the immediate post-Vatican II era, he noted, disputes between liberal and conservative Catholics centered largely on intra-church issues, such as liturgical practices. Today's tug-of-war is focused on the "broader culture wars in American society" and liberal Catholics and their conservative brethren are no longer even "pulling on the same rope."

(Ah-ha--- and here is the real issue--- they are losing their grip and they know it! The old guard is retiring, resigning (sometimes under the pall of scandal) and dying off--- they see the younger Catholics as being more orthodox and ---horrors---- more conservative especially on moral and liturgical issues---- the "new church" they tried to "sing into being" is beginning to crumble. This is panic time for them--- when in reality it is what the Holy Father has repeatedly referred to as the "New Springtime of Evangelization". Living in my diocese with the legacy of the late Joseph Cardinal Bernadin this is a very out in the open tug-of-war--- it gets very tiring and at times it has weighed heavily on my faith---especially my two years at the School of Heresy--- (read: lay minister training) In fact one teacher---a substitute (a lesbian and abortion activist) chosen by the lay teacher of the "Communication Skills" class told us one evening "the bible was written by men who saw women as livestock" and "that we are not bound to believe anything that makes another group of people *feel* oppressed as actually coming from the mouth of God (emphasis mine). She continued "after all ---the writer's were influenced by the oppressive societies they lived in." After that night I made a Holy Hour before every class.

Said Dinges, "We do not even know how to talk to each other -- to have responsible adult conversations -- in areas where there is serious disagreement." The structures that are supposed to facilitate communication within the church, says Dinges, are "dysfunctional."

(See above--- they sure are!I would say this is the same issue the democratic party is having--- one of credibility. Liberalism has run its course and many people through their God given gifts of intellect and reason have come to see the dangers and pitfalls of many aspects of contemporary liberal ideology and they are rejecting it. Failure to comminicate occurs when one side gets tired of conversing with the other because the only option is their way or the highway. In closing I give another example --- I was appointed by my pastor to be our liason to the archdiocesan Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission--- on our formation night I heard all kinds of wonderful activities many parishes are engaged in with those of other faiths--- but then the meeting turned more informal and discussion was about other Catholics ---someone asked "what was going on with all the "young people" why are they all so interested in having Latin masses offered again--- and their thinking is so conservative--- they are also into all that Marian stuff again too." To which the gray haired gentleman sitting accross from me said "It's that Mother Angelica and EWTN--- it's evil ---she has done more damage to the church than anyone else I can think of." ------- Welcome to the Archdiocese of Chicago!)

To be fair Cardinal George has done an amazing job of cleaning up the seminaries and putting reins on some of the more ridiculous liturgical trends but being Bernadin's successor has placed a tremendous task before him. For the resistence he has faced and the relatively short time he's been here he has made some significant differences--- I just pray it continues.

I'm back

Wow--- almost three months! I was totally burned out! Or maybe I should say I was on a sabbatical--- makes me sound smart doesn't it? Actually it was a combination of just running dry on things to say, getting fed up with what was going on in the world and then the holidays. The holidays were tougher then usual for me this year since my mom passed away---- so I am sure that all this played into my inability to get motivated to blog--- but I am back---refreshed. We have had two new additions to our "family". First is a new puppy his name is Dually--- my husband's idea and second my husband's chopper was completed. This hunk of machinery has been the topic of much discussion in our household. I finally relented DH works hard and this has been a lifelong dream of his. This bike is a custom by Snake Alley Customs in Port Barrington Illinois. Marty, the owner and Jeff have been riding together for years. If you click on the link you will see some of the bikes Marty has designed. We had it at a show at McCormick Place last weekend and it took first in its class. Even I have to admit it is pretty cool looking. It has a Celtic flavor per my husbands request (Irish guy)--- the handle bars are etched swords and it has mace as the tail lights--- pretty wild! Finally--- it is Lent and I will have some reflections on that--- this is always an interesting time of year for me... God Bless!

Alone

Well, not quite! Kai and Bramha are here----

But the boys (read: husband and son) left for deer camp about an hour ago. I am a free woman for the weekend--- no work, no cooking, no laundry. Basically I invision a lot of reading, knitting, sewing... I am making a table runner for Christmas for the dining table---some frolicking at the doggie park with my canine companions and some photo taking. Basically whatever I feel like doing I can do. I also have a CRHP (Christ Renews His Parish) retreat Saturday and Sunday at my parish---don't know what to expect---I have heard mostly positive things---so I am going with open and hopeful expectations--- I just pray it is not one of those events filled with cutesy rituals and pointless activities---I endured dozens of them while in training as a lay minister. I have an conditioned aversion to any activity that involves flowers, rocks, acorns, mirrors, bowls of water, sand and seashells, candle lighting or circle "dancing"--- or if it requires the use of colored markers or crayons, felt or singing the song "Sing a New Church".